Winter Weekend...

So this weekend I spent Saturday working the 9 Cares Colorado Shares food drive. Between 5 sites, we collected more than 230 TONS of canned and dry food, several semis full of clothing, several semis full of toys, and several semis full of bath goods. It was so fun, and so neat to see so many people give so much. Everyone there had an awesome attitude. You really would not believe how many people came with their car filled to the rim, some after just going to Costco or King Soopers, and just pulling up, opening their doors. This was probably single handedly the most inspiring thing I've ever done. If you ever have the opportunity to work at this kind of event do it. It was freezing outside, and wet as can be, and

we had to be there at 6 AM, but it was SO WORTH IT! :) We danced, and made boxes, and filled boxes, and met new people, and networked. Many of the professional sporting mascots showed up as the theme for our location was sports, and even Santa Claus showed up wearing his Bronco's jersey!

As soon as we left the food drive, we came home to nap for a while, 5 AM comes early, especially on Saturday morning. Standing out in the cold for several hours takes its wear on you too! After a long nap, I woke up to see LOTS of snow.... and it didn't stop then.

The snow came in on Friday, but didn't really STICK until Saturday afternoon, but then it really started sticking... and just came down and down and down. Its just now really stopping (on Sunday afternoon). I ended up with about 15 inches of snow... AGAIN. Ugh. I'm so over the snow already. But... the boys LOVE IT! So I took a few pics of them playing in it! :)

Catch Up...

It's been quite a while since I've been on here, life gets crazy sometimes, but I've got lots of news, pictures, and great experiences to sum up on here. :)

I'll start with Septemeber. In the first part of the month I took a long weekend and traveled to Maryland to Celebrate Olivia's 1st birthday! :) She is such a beautiful baby! :)

This is a ball pit she got for her bday... Oh goodness!


Livi and Daddy taking a nap together! :)


And finally, the birthday princess at her party! :)

I spent the bulk of September (and part of August and part of October) looking for a house to purchase. In the middle of Septemeber I finally found a house I loved! It was a little bit further away from my work than I was hoping to purchase, but it was a PERFECT house for me. I put in an offer and was "under contract" on the house, but it was a short sale, so the deal was still awaiting bank approval. For some reason after a few weeks fo waiting, I suddenly had second thoughts, and my gut insitinct told me to pull my offer. I'm still sad thinking about it, I really did feel like that was a perfect house for me. :(

Near the end of Septemeber, I took another trip, but this time back home to Indiana for my friend Amanda's wedding. Randi (my best friend) and I decided to meet up in Chicago a few days before the wedding, and, we went out one night, it was awesome! :) We pretty much just went to dinner, and then went bar hoping, and back to the hotel to sleep! Here's a few pics from that leg of my trip:

The next morning, we rented a car and drove home to Indiana for Manda's wedding. It was a weekend full of fun. Seeing Family, Friends, and and catching up was soo good. It was the first time in almost 10 years that ALL of use girls in my group of friends had all made it to one destination at one time. AMAZING!

Once I returned home, I came back to an incredibly hectic work schedule. I had worked only 1 Friday in all of the month of September (between a holiday and two long weekends), I'd had a few very short weeks one after another, after another, after another. On top of already behind as a result of all of this, I returned to the office to do two jobs for the next 3 weeks. My coworker (whom is solely responsible for the entire companies payroll, took a vacation through Europe. The third day I returned, my boss (the only other employee in the accounting department at this point in time) came down with H1N1. So... the next few weeks were EXTREMELY stressful for me.

On the Monday of the 3rd week back, we learned that our company (whom I've worked for for almost 3 years) has decided to relocate our corporate office to Cheyenne, Wyoming. For those of you that do not know, Cheyenne is about 100 miles north of Denver.

I'm so bummed. Cheyenne is just not where I saw myself and my life going. But, in this job market, it is hard to give up a great job.

So, I am still undecided as to what I am going to do. There are so many variables effected by my decision, and no matter how much I think about it and try to weigh my options, the decision just doesn't ever seem to get easier. :(

None the less, I am required to decide by 11/23 weather I will relocate to Cheyenne, or give up my job to remain in Denver.

If Doni ever sees this, she'll kill me, but I couldn't help but post them... :)

My oldest sister emailed me last week and asked if I could scan in a few pictures of her as a baby. I guess they are doing some thing at her work where they have to guess whose baby picture it is.. etc. So, I started looking through all kinds of old pictures we have, and boy oh boy do we have a TON of pictures.

In doing this though, I realized that Olivia really looks a lot like Doni... the light eyes and dark hair... awe so cute! So... I thought I'd share a few pictures.

Let me remind you, Doni was born in 76, so some of these pictures are pretty old, as you can tell from the outfits/wallpaper/blankets, etc. :)

When I get more time, I am going to scan in a lot more pictures (not just of Doni), but older pictures, that are fun to look at! :)

Here we go again....

Today I had the sudden realization that I have less than a week before classes officially start again.

I hate that I am not excited for the semester to start. I want to be excited, but instead I feel like there is a huge dark cloud looming overhead. Going to school is so much work when I'm already working full time. I literally feel like it drains the life out of me sometimes. Last Spring, I took a course load that overwhelmed me beyond belief, and now, only 3 months later, I can't even exactly remember what classes I took. Needless to say, I don't feel that I'm taking a lot away from some of these classes, which only makes me resent them more.

All of that being said, I want my degree, and I know that as much as I hate this right now, in the end it will be well worth all of the hard work, sometimes its just hard to see that. It seems so far away. But.... like I've always said, somehow, someway, I'll get there, and I'll find a way.... no one can stop me, including myself. :)

As I finally went to purchase my textbooks this morning, I realized just how much I benefit from my job here. WOW. My tuition for three classes was nearly $1000 per class.... my text books were almost another $500...
On top of already liking my job quite a bit... and all of the other benefits I receive... I almost have to consider them paying for all of that every semester like another $7000 a year in income! Just another reason to be thankful and count my blessings!

On another happier note, I have an interview with the Big Brothers Big Sisters group on Friday, and I am very excited to be involved with the program. :) The process of becoming a "big" is a lot longer than I'd imagined, but it will likely be a good thing. Last week I attended a group "training", really it was just a session where they tell you about the program, what is expected, what is prohibited, etc. And, even that was fun for me! :)

I met a lot of like minded people there, and I hope that I'll get to see more of them at future events with our "littles." In addition to that training, I'll undergo a 1-2 hour interview on Friday, undergo a background/driving history check, and they will contact some of the references that I listed on my application. I kind of feel like I am interviewing for a job, LOL. But, I think its a good thing, it keeps people from getting involved with the program for the wrong reasons, and kind of protects the kids from being hurt in the process.

In other news, one of my best friends ever found out on Friday she's having a little girl! :) I can't freaking wait to meet her! :) Kind of scarey to think we might have another "Susie Homemaker", I mean Kellie, running around! Then again, there are a lot worse people I could think of having 2 of! :) Only kidding, I love my Oscar, and I hope her little girl is JUST LIKE HER, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have 2 of!

Here is a random Melody of pictures from the last few weeks.... :)

Can you find Mars? :) He's become obsessedwith pillows, he loves to sleep in the pillows on the couch, on the bed, anywhere he can find pillows really! :)
Milo will hang out anywhere, as long as I'm not far away... he's quite attached to momma!

Olivia has learned to crawl! :) At 11 months old, she is officially mobile! I can't wait to see her for her first birthday next month! :)

This is my friends baby, Calvin. And I just had to include him because he's just so stinkin cute!

A few weeks ago, Amy and I played Dance Dance Revolution (on Wii) until 2 in the morning. Seriously, I haven't laughed so hard in years as I did this night! :) If you haven't tried this out yet, definitely do... yeah you can make a fool of yourself, but its 100% worth it!

And Finally.... Kate. My other, lesser known, niece. On August 3rd, Kate turned 5 years old! :) What a beautiful little girl she has become. I wish more than anything in the world I could see her, but none the less, I'm happy to at least be able to see that she is thriving, happy and healthy. :)

Why is it that fall always becomes chaotic for me?

With Summer not really feeling like much of a summer this year, I'm starting to wonder why everything I do always seems to be in the fall. It always seems like my life is so boring for long periods of time and then all of a sudden its like I hit the gas and everythign happens at once.

I guess a lot of it is just the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, September/October Birthdays: Me, mom, Doni, Amy, Olivia! That and it seems like I tend to travel more and have more events that time of year.

September last year I had planned everything out just right, including a trip to Maryland to help with Olivia and the house after Kristyn had a C-section. But.... Olivia decided to come 2 weeks early! It was a wonderful surprise, but also unexpected. Don't get me wrong I loved going out there. But, she also just so happen to come just a a week before Kellie's wedding, which made the timing a little more difficult in addition to needing to change my flight and re-arrange my work/dog schedule as well! Then of course I had Kel's wedding! In the midst of this time period we sometimes celebrated a few birthdays here and there too. Did I mention that I'm also going to school full time and working full time somehow?
Then came Thanksgiving, and Doni's decision to move to Ohio (which meant she was traveling back and forth and I had her dog as well for almost 2 months). Holidays in general are just stressful in my family, and last year definitely was no exception.
In December, Eric and Kristyn and Olivia came out for 11 days, which also was fun, but it was a bit more stress, in addition the usual holiday stress. Then January came, and I had kind of dumbly and inconveniently planned a trip to see my best friend in Florida. Don't get me wrong I love her, but the trip didnt' turn out the best. Unfortunately the humidity coupled with her cats shedding was very dangerous for my breathing! Which made me miserable for the majority of the trip.
The week I got back I was already in the process of moving, and starting new classes for the semester. Which also means that in the meantime of all of this, I had been looking for a place to live, re-registered for classes, and had a going away party for my oldest sister whom moved to Ohio.
By the time February rolled around I was redy for a break and to relax and try to catch up both at work and at home (unpacking), and on school work. And just 2 weeks in I decided to buy a new car too! LOL.
Since then, things have calmed down, thank goodness, I don't like that much stress!
But... .now I'm looking at my schedule for this fall, and I'm worried it might turn out similar!
Already in September I have a wedding in Indiana, and Olivia's first birthday family bash in Maryland. In October, I have one week where I will be doing 2 jobs at work, one of them being payroll which I have never done by myself at this job! I am supposed to go on a girls trip the week after that with my mom and sisters, but have still not really decided if I am going to end up doing that or not. A friend from California thinks he might come out here the last week in October just to visit for the first time. Randi, my best friend is likely coming out to visit in November, maybe with another friend as well. And then I start the Holiday season with my family all over again! Oh and of course I start new classes in August again... can't forget that!

YIKES, looking back at last year, I don't know how I made it through that 3 or 4 months!!!!

WOW.... Long Day.

It is going to be a long day.... my office normally consists of anywhere between 8 and 15 people depending on the day. There are 3 of us in the accounting department. 4 people in the in the Engineering Department. 2 Administrative assistants. 1 Environmental Health/Safety Specialist, 1 HR Executive, and the President of our company.

Today... it is ME and 1 Admin assistant. This is a very bizzare, and probably going to be a very LONG day.

The States I've Visited

In Red are all the states I have visited... in Grey are those that I haven't made it to yet...


I was thinking I'd been to a lot more states than this...

I need to get traveling some more.

I want to someday visit EVERY state... :)

Anyone want to go on a road trip?

A time to be thankful...

I am thankful everyday for the things, people, and experiences I've had and continue to have in my life. This week however a few incidents occured that reminded me how blessed I am.

Last week I was pretty mad because my review did not come back as great as I'd hoped and really thought it would. Don't get me wrong, it came back very positive, and I got another 5% increase. But... I was expecting them to review and likely even change my title, and well they didn't. :( Oh-well, as my boss said, a title is just a title.

So reminders of what I am thankful for...

1. Today, I learned that after 40 years at the same job, my roomate's father was fired from his job. He had worked at the same job, worked his way to the top and everything since he was 18!

2. This morning I also learned that a close friend's husband was let go from him job. He is the bread winner in their family, works in the auto industry, which as everyone knows has been hit terribly, terribly hard in this economy. They have a 3 month old baby currently.

Both of these served as a reminder that perhaps I was being greedy wanting more than I'd gotten from my review.... and so, despite the hardship it created for them, I'm thankful for the realization it gave me.

I have a million reasons to be thankful for my job, and some of them include:

a) I have almost no stress
b) I am blogging at work, lest I say more?
c) I like my boss a lot, 95% of the time.
d) I am paid pretty well.
e) I have 3 weeks paid vacation.
f) ALL of my insurance (medical, dental, vision) cost me $40 a month (quite a benefit considering I paid $280 at my last job).
g) My school is paid for.
h) I get every other Friday off
I) I have unlimited sick pay, which I can use for Doctor's appointments
J) Really, if I think about it, there are probably a whole alphabet of reasons to be thankful.

I also realized this weekend how thankful I am for my boys. On Saturday, I drove to Loveland to help a friend (same one who's husband was just let go), prepare their house for sale. We worked out butts off in the yard and house all day. I took my boys with me, and they ran and ran and ran in the yard... they have a HUGE back yard, and there were other dogs there to play with too.

From the first night I brought them home, until February when I finally purchased a new vehicle, Mars has gotten sick in the car every time we got in. I don't know if it was the stress, the fear, just plain carsickness, or what, but every time we went somewhere the poor thing would get sick. I've worked with him over and over, and things got better (mostly just drool, and rare puking). Since I bought a new car (much higher seats) in February, Mars has never gotten sick again. The key though is that he needs to be able to put his face out the window and feel the wind. So, yes, I am the weirdo that drives down I-25 in the winter with my dog (and sometimes dogS) sticking his head out the window. Whatever it takes, to make him not get sick.

So this window open thing has become the norm.... so saturday...we drove to Loveland, window open. Made it there, played all day! :)

On the way home, I ran through Chick-Fil-A to get a Cherry Coke... I love Cherry Coke! Weaving my way out of the parking lot, I of course drove in front of Petsmart, Pier 1, Target, all of those stores in Centerra. About the time I got in front of Pier 1, this young couple with 2 little kids were about to cross the walkway, I slowed down, let them cross, and then took off again. Seconds after taking off I realized, Mars had just JUMPED out the freaking window!!!!! My freaking dog jumped out of a moving vehicle. Milo, the sweet innocent little thing... looked out the window at the ground, trying to figure out where his big brother had just gone!

I of course immediately put the car in park and jump out. I am mortified even when I am out, I can't see him... the first thing I think is... OMG did I hit him? My heart stopped beating for a second. And then immediately, I see Mars run to these sweet little kids that are just now entering Pier 1 with their parents. Thank you god for this mother, she smartly grabs his collar for me and holds it til I can get to her.

In the end he is fine, not a scratch on him. But... for that brief second I panicked, and it made me realize I really do love that little brat. Even though he is a TON of extra work (I swear he is more work than a mastiff would be), I love him so much. My life would not be the same without his crazy, silly antics.

So, the moral to all of these ramblings... this week... I am thankful. For my life, for my job, for my health, for my dogs, for my friends, for all of the experiences I've been able to have, and those yet to come.

My Long... weekend!

Its been really crappy weather, and I hate it!

I was fortunate enough to have a 4 day weekend (Friday-Monday) this last weekend. But unfortunately, it rained all 4 of those days! :(

Luckily, I was able to get a few things done on Friday night before the sky opened up. If you know me at all, you probably know that I'm not really a get dirty playing in the yard kind of girl... just not really my thing. I'm not afraid of some work, just don't typically like it to include dirt. LOL

But it needed to be done, so Friday, I mowed the lawn (which is actually pretty good sized), front and back, and even started the sprinklers on our two "dead" spots. The rain has definitely helped in those spots! :) I even pulled a bunch of weeds and got flowers for my planters and a few hangingin baskets. My yard is starting to look livable again.

By evening when my roomie returned home, I was spent, so we grilled out and sat on the patio having a beer... when the sky decided to let go! :P So the evening was spent inside.

Saturday morning it was pretty nice out again, so I got up and got a few errands done, then met my roomie at home for more lawn attacking. We managed to move a TON of rock around the backyard to try to make it more functional and a bit less muddy. We attacked a BUNCH more weeds, and even clipped a bunch of the bushes and got rid of some sticks and things. By the time we finished I was so sore and exhausted.

So... we grilled out again, had a beer, and low and behold, here came the rain again. :P

Saturday night, I convinced Amy to give me a pedicure. I've been dying for one, but with not having a toenail on my left foot, I've been to nervous to come somewhere to have it done. Besides Amy does it better! :) So she came over and hung out with me while watching the Nuggets lose pitifully. :( At midnight, I played the good roomate and went and picked up my drunky roomate and her siblings.

We had more people stay over that night (3) then I think our house has ever seen, lol!

Sunday morning I got up and it LOOKED like it was going to be nice out. So I read for a bit and then made Amy get up, lol. :) I convinced her to go with me to Dick's Sporting Goods to finally buy the bicycle I've been eyeing for like 3 weeks. And low and behold, I waited just long enough, because for Memorial day weekend, it was $50 off! :) Still more than I was hoping, but its really nice! Here's what it looks like:

So I convinced Amy to ride up to mom's with me and go for a bike ride. But... when we got up there we came to the realization that both of their bikes needed some "repairs." Really, they both just need A LOT of air in the tires. So I loaded theirs in my car, stopped at Target for an air gauge then headed to the gas station and aired up their tires. Came back, we went on a short ride just as it was starting to rain again, lol. Oh-well at least we got both of their bikes up and working again. Well actually I need to take Amy's in, as the gears aren't shifting right, but it operates on mid-level just fine so we were still able to get out for a short ride.

I LOVE bikeriding... have I told anyone that? Bike riding is kind of like therapy to me. If I am mad or upset or anything else, nothing beats riding and feeling the wind... seriously.

So now I'm pumped, I really want to get to the point where I CAN ride my bike to and from work, maybe not every day, but at least a few days a week would be SO GOOD for me and I think therapeutic too!

Anyhow, Monday came around, and of course it rained again, ALL DAY. So I spent the entire day inside. I was not feeling well at all, so I spent a good portion of the day in bed actually. By evening I was ready to shoot myself, I hate being confined. So, I took the boys on a walk, and then jumped on my bike and went for another short ride, just around the neighborhood and up a few hills (wholly cow am I out of shape!).

I'm really stoked to get back on, I just wish this weather would clear, its killing me!

After I got back... I watched "John and Kate Plus Eight" I don't care who hates that show, thinks its dumb, or that all this tabloid crap is ridiculous. I love the show. I think the kids are adorable, and for all the people that don't like Kate because she is "bitchy"... look at her life. Lets see you raise 8 kids under the age of 8 and be as successful as her. I happen to think her strict rules and schedules have benefited her family and children fairly well! I think the tabloid stuff is sad and horrible, but maybe I'm neive, I don't believe everything I see in those dumb things, and I think its up to them to figure out what to do with whatever the situation ends up being! So... for the record the premiere last night, though kinda sad, was really cute! :)

Then... it was time for the Nuggets to get back in the game! And boy did they! Last night's game was AWESOME. The Nuggets played so well, it was genuninely a fun game to watch! I want them to pull of the West so badly! :)

And... then it was 10 o'clock and time for bed. And I got into bed, but couldn't fall asleep. So I stayed up last night, til like 1 AM.... first watching TV, then playing on facebook and myspace on my phone. Then playing Ms. Pacman on my phone... which by the way is the coolest thing ever! :) Just had a lot on my mind and couldn't fall asleep....

Which means... I am tired today! :(

Crash!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

It officially crashed... oh my poor poor computer! :(

My laptop might have seen its last days. I'm so sad, although most stuff I have on there I have backed up somewhere else (facebook, myspace, CDs, etc.), I still don't like to feel like maybe there is something on there that I don't realize and I'm losing!

It has what is called the "BSOD" (Blue Screen of Death). So sad, it can't even open windows. If you know me, at all, you know that I am very attached to my computer (and my blackberry)!

So... my brother's friend whom lives in Iowa looks at it and says... oh I think we can save all your data AND fix it! Just get the original windows cd that came with the computer.

I think to myself... hmm... I think I know where thats at... Oh yeah I won't have to buy a new one, AGAIN.

.... I was wrong. I am going nuts. I lived in an apartment up until the end of January, and the entire time I lived in taht apartment, I could tell you EXACTLY where this little carboard box that contains all of the manuals/cds for my computer sat. Ironically now that I moved, I can't find it. I'm so irritated. I do not lose crap like this! I keep everythin, everything has a place in my life, and I know where that place is. So how did I lose something so important???

GRRR...

Oh well, after a bit more research, few phone calls, etc. I've discovered that for roughly $25 I can have Compaq (HP) send me new CDs, and HOPEFULLY then I will be able to recover everything and have a computer again! :)

Until then..... I guess I can only blog at work... shucks! LOL :)

And just because I can share them, and because I love my little Livi.... a few more pictures of her spending time at the park with her Daddy! :)

Pictures from April...

In April I visited my brother, his wife, and their beautiful baby (my goddaughter), Olivia. I didn't do a whole lot while on the trip, stayed close to home mostly, but I did get to spend alot of really good time with Olivia and I loved it!

Livi (as we call her) was born 9/10/08, which made her just over 6 months when I visited.

I love her and thought I'd share a few pics! :)

These first pictures were from my visit to Maryland, but after 6 days in Maryland, I actually brought Olivia and Kristyn (SIL), back home to Colorado with me! :) So, the pictures down further are from her trip here! :)

Family Picture:

Playing on the floor, giggling! :)

Playing with Daddy!

Aunt Amy and Mommy:

Grandpa and Livi!

Finally...

This semester is over!

This semester has kicked my butt!

I want my Bachelor's degree so badly, but seriously sometimes I wonder if it is really worth the hell I put myself through. I have a really good job, I make decent money, but still I feel like I need something "more." This seems fine cause I am 25 years old, and most people at 25 want more. But, anbody that knows me knows I have a lot... I am a very blessed person.

So... my fear is that I will work my butt off to get this because I want it, but then I'll just move on to wanting something else. I don't know what it will take to ever satisfy my, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to stop working for something, bigger and better in my life.

Which doesn't sound bad, but its exhausting to never be satisfied with where I am and what I have. Thats not to say that I am not appreciative, I am, far more than most people, I cherish every tangible and intangible thing I have in my life.

Ok done with that. On to more positive things.

The boys are getting better, they seem to be really calming down a lot lately. BUT... I did decide to go back to kenneling them. I hate kenneling them, but if I don't kennel them, they just don't get the potty training thing.

For those that don't know, I kenneled the boys every day up until about a month or 6 weeks ago. Then I started to leave them out for short periods of time, and eventually entire days. They did REALLY good at first, never pottied. But, since I went on vacation and returned, they've all but fallen back into old habits. :( So I'm back to kenneling them.

I've moved the kennel to the living room though, and Milo LOVES it. He honestly loves his kennel. As you can see when I am home they are out the entire time, but he will often go lay down in his kennel rather than in the comfy beds they have or on my couches. That makes me feel a bit better about kenneling them! :)

Mars is still naughty as ever but so freaking cute!

We went to obedience classes for 8 weeks, and though we got some good out of it, we didn't get quite as much as I'd hoped for. Both boys can sit, lay down, stay, "leave it" (put a treat in front of them and tell them to leave it and they will). In addition, Mars (whom is REALLY smart) will also shake and do High-Five. Currently I am working on getting them to turn in a circle on command. Mars is a LOT smarter and a lot easier to train, so he's almost got it already. Milo, is just a bit slower, and he has this thing with his feet leaving the ground (hence the reason he won't shake or do High-Five). But.... we're working on that too.

I love my boys! They are the sweetest, cutest, puppies ever! :)

Milo in his Kennel:


Boys sleeping while I write my last paper for the semester:

Boys got groomed this weekend, and they actually enjoy the car some now:

Why the pressure?

It really bothers me that my family feels that I need to be rushing to "start my life," "Marry," and "have babies."

What on gods green earth are they thinking?

First things first, I happen to find my opinion quite important in this decision. I'm not even completely certain if I want children in the future, and I sure as heck don't want them now. It isn't that I don't love children, I really do, but I don't know for sure if I'm the right person to be raising children. I'm not sure if I am too selfish or not to have children. Heck I can't get along with one person for long enough right now to even consider this... so back to my point.

My mother, for years, has wished that I would end up prego, how weird is that? Don't get me wrong, I understand why she wants that, I just don't know that she's looking at the right person.

My brother has now at least 2 times in the last 7 months prompted me on the same issue... and other family members have dropped hints as if my biological clock is ticking... HELLO... I am freaking 25... Do I have a sign on my back that says I am desperate to have children? Am I the only one missing this?

Again... I love children, I really do, and spending time with Olivia this week has reminded me of that....

But... that still doesn't mean I'm ready to give up my life... did anyone notice that I am working full time, going to school full time, single, and not even really looking for a serious relationship right now? Its not that I am against a committed relationship, it just hasn't happened yet... and even if it had, I'm certainly not going to get knocked up right away.... I'm not a moron. I have plans for my own life too you know guys? I want to travel, I want to see things, do things, go places that everyone else in my family will probably never see.

I have my whole life ahead of me, and maybe my plans will change one day, who knows, I'm not saying anything couldn't happen, just that I'm not in a rush to make something happen that would forever impact another beings life....

Right now, I am far too wrapped up in my own life to even consider thinking about someone else 24/7. So please for god's sake, lay off... or bug someone else....

Ok... done venting now...

On a much lighter note, I've throughly enjoyed watching, playing with, holding, Olivia this week. She's such a beautiful baby, and I LOVE HER. :)

Should be an interesting day...

So there is something inherently wrong with the course structure of a class when out of 36 assignments, quizzes, and exercises so far I've received 100% on all 36, yes, that means I haven't missed a single point yet. However, I am unable to achieve even a high C on any test this professor gives.

My attempts at being reasonable, asking questions, or suggesting he take a second look at a particular questions presentation, or my overall progress in his course have not only done no good, but actually back fired, and resulted in the professor telling me that I've "insulted him personally".... Do you ever feel like you can't win?

Let me give you guys an example of one of the questions on this professors test... take a gamble at the correct answer, if you know excel its not difficult, if you don't, you will probably be lost. :)

Here is one test question:

In a company with data sets on its customers that include Date of Visit, Number of Visits, Customer Number, and Store Number, which of the data which would be used for subtotaling?

a)Date of Visit
b)Number of Visits
c)Customer Number
d)Store Number

Three people in the course (the only three that added any input) all agreed to one answer... however, the answer was wrong.

Based on my understanding, the answer would be number of visits... this is the only "number" that you would logically subtotal.

However... the real answer is store number.... why you ask?

Here was my response to the professor:

Professor,

I think the way this question is worded is confusing us. If I read this, I assume you mean which of these "data sets" can be subtotaled (which can be ADDED), not by which "data set" would you subtotal the data.

These types of "misunderstandings" in translation are really frustrating. If we have these types of issues, would you consider looking at the questions and perhaps adjusting grades based on the situation?

Thanks.

Carrie

He neglected to even respond to me at all.

And this isn't an isolated incident, the problem with the course isn't really the course. Its a communication problem. I perceive (do not know) that Professor Sidhamed's first language is not english, and thus that when he is writing our tests in English, the question does not always come out as he intended.

I've tried and tried to talk to this professor to no avail. So I finally sent him an email requesting to meet in person with him as I didn't feel like he was taking the situation seriously.

He proceeded to tell me that I had "insulting him" (yes this is the grammer used) and that I could take it straight to the dean.

Which... I did... so yesterday I spent an hour on the phone with the dean, forwarding emails, explaining to him, etc.

And what does he tell me? You need to meet with the professor in person...

So... thats my next step... today at 4, (since he will ONLY meet me between 3 and 5 on Tuesday or Thursday), I will be taking time off of work to deal with this man whom perceives my efforts to help myself succeed as "insulting."

Wish me luck... I'll let you know how it goes.

I HATE SCHOOL.

Just for you Kellie...

Ok Kellie you made me want one. Your blog is too cute, and it makes me want to create my own. So, here it is. Just don't expect me to remember to update it (except when avoiding work or homework-which is everyday, LOL).

I don't really know what to blog about though... lets see...

In January, I moved! :) I now have a house with a backyard, and my boys LOVE it. They get more exercise now than ever before... and I swear they eat more. LOL. On Saturday, I am going to start obedience training with them. Someone has got to control Mars' additude. I'm telling you, you've never met another dog with more personality than him. I love it, he's so fun, but he's such a handful... somedays he makes me nuts!

Last year (2008) for Valentine's Day I got myself the best gift ever, my boys! :) So that means I've officially had them for a year now! :)

This year for Valentine's Day (well really just the week of), I decided to go buy myself a car! :)

So I did... I bought a Ford Edge, and I LOVE IT! :)

Those are the only exciting things in my life. Other than that I just work and go to school.

I'll try to update this, but I don't do anything very exciting, so I might find it hard to keep thinking of stuff to write! LOL

:)